Now that we've found how to compute residual income, we must now use this information to formulate a true value estimate for a firm. Like other absolute valuation approaches, the concept of discounting future earnings is put to use in residual income modeling as well. The intrinsic, or fair value, of a company's stock using the residual income approach, can be broken down into its book value and the present values of its expected future residual incomes, as illustrated in the formula below.
Nice list. What keeps my family from getting more streams is the time it takes. I would actually be willing to work part time in medicine and make less money with a side-hustle just to keep things fresh and prevent burnout. That requires some degree of FI and some time to read about the new endeavor. Maybe when my kids are both in school, we we see. Until then, I’ll keep reading your posts for ideas.
That strategy seems waaaayyyy less risky than actively picking stocks of supposedly “reliable” stocks that issue dividends, which could be cut at any time due to shifting industry trends and company performance. Dividend investing feels like an overly complex old-school way of investing that doesn’t have a very strong intellectual basis compared to index investing.
In expensive cities like San Francisco and New York City, net rental yields can fall as low as 2%. This is a sign that there is a lot of liquidity buying property for property appreciation, and not so much for income generation. This is a riskier proposition than buying property based on rental income. In inexpensive cities, such as those in the Midwest, net rental yields can easily be in the range of 8% – 12%, although appreciation may be slower.
People's lives these days are so fast paced that multitasking has become the need of the hour. That explains why podcasts have suddenly become so popular; they allow people to get information or entertainment while they're in the middle of commuting, working out, cooking, or something else. Podcasts are easier to create than YouTube videos and can be shared just as easily on iTunes. Just select a topic that you're well-informed or passionate about, and start a podcast around it, it's that simple.
Rentals, just like stocks, throw off cash. With rentals we call that cash “rent”, and with stocks we call it dividends. A significant difference however is that the S&P 500 has appreciated at ~6% per year (above inflation) for the last 100 years…..Real Estate has had almost 0 growth above inflation. So are rents higher than dividends? Maybe, maybe not. But unless you got one heck of a deal, the delta in rent over dividends will have a very tough time making up for the 6% per year difference in appreciation.
You’ll also need to ensure you have a great camera and really understand the ins-and-outs of taking great quality photos. You could, in fact, sign up to a course on Udemy where you can learn photography. Afterwards, once you’ve mastered it, not only can you sell your stock photos online, but you could create your own course teaching people how they could do it on their own.
3. Rent - Being a landlord is fabulous. You get rent for the rest of your life on the asset that you have created. This type of income also can grow if your property is good, well maintained. The growing income is a hedge against inflation. If you can earn rent to pay for your living expenses every month, you can be very close to achieving financial freedom!
Here’s the truth: a successful business is something that successfully solves a problem. And that business can make more money in two ways: solving more people’s problems, or solving bigger problems. The cool thing about the EP Model is that sometimes these products don’t even have to be yours. You can generate income by recommending other people’s or companies’ services or products. This is called affiliate marketing. It’s actually how I’ve made most of my money since I started in 2008.
Of course, before you start making significant money from your investment, you’ll need to invest a lot of time, some money, and incredible effort into your project or business. You’ll also need to have a lot of patience, dedication and a vision for your residual income in the future. Delayed gratification is a must when it comes to residual income.
When I purchase an existing online business, I look for cash flow over the past year and where the money comes from. I want the sources to be more passive so that it does not take a lot of my time. Also, typically I will make an offer that is 18 – 24 months of profit so that I know that I will get my money back within the next two years. I hope that helps!
What I like about p2p investing on Lending Club is the website’s automated investing tool. You pick the criteria for loans in which you want to invest and the program does the rest. It will look for loans every day that meet those factors and automatically invest your money. It’s important because you’re collecting money on your loan investments every day so you want that money reinvested as soon as possible.
Who doesn’t like some down and dirty affiliate fees?! Especially if you realize it can be even easier to make money this way than with an ebook. After all, you simply need to concentrate on pumping out some content for your own site and getting the traffic in, often via Google or social media. Unsurprisingly, most people can enjoy their first affiliate sale within 30 days of starting a blog. Continue reading >
Keeping it empty — not a bad idea, especially to save taxes. I am thinking of living in my bigger unit for lifestyle and tax reasons. But check with your insurance company. Sometimes the rates and coverage are different for vacant property, and there are requirements for regular inspection. In my city, there is also a local property tax fee for holding vacant rental property due to the housing shortage.
Finally, make sure you can service multiple types of clients. This is the best egg to have. Even for something as simple as a dog walking business, you can service multiple types of clients. For example, you can offer a puppy walking service and an adult walking service. You can have weekends at the park services. You can offer to take the dog to the groomers. Try to meet client’s individual needs.
But, you don't need to go further than that. You can simply write it and publish it and collect the income. That's all. Send out a couple emails to your list (if you have one) or post it on social media, and there you have it. Passive income. Now, the amount of income you receive depends on the quality of the book you've written. How well did you craft the message? How targeted was the information to your audience? It counts.

Credit Card Sign-Up Bonuses – This one might not seem like a source of income but ever since I discovered how lucrative churning credit cards can be I consider it part of my income. Just last year alone, I made over $10,000 tax free in travel, cash and gift cards from various sign-ups. It’s not as simple as just signing up for a card though, it requires a lot of research and some maintenance every couple weeks.

The views expressed on this blog are those of the bloggers, and not necessarily those of Intuit. Third-party blogger may have received compensation for their time and services. Click here to read full disclosure on third-party bloggers. This blog does not provide legal, financial, accounting or tax advice. The content on this blog is "as is" and carries no warranties. Intuit does not warrant or guarantee the accuracy, reliability, and completeness of the content on this blog. After 20 days, comments are closed on posts. Intuit may, but has no obligation to, monitor comments. Comments that include profanity or abusive language will not be posted. Click here to read full Terms of Service.
This is an ideal strategy if you live in an area where real estate prices are too high to realistically invest in, or you don’t want the hassle and expense of traveling all over the country visiting potential properties. Plus, if you are new to single-family real estate investing, letting a place like Roofstock guide you through the process is a great way to get your feet wet.
I just started out with Affiliate Marketing (idea # 8) and it is not as easy as people make out to be. For me, the hardest part so far, is learning Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and driving traffic to my website. I’m only 3 months into it, but I am confident that the site will begin to generate some incom., I have to give it 6-9 months, so we’ll see.
In the residual income model, the intrinsic value of a share of common stock is the sum of book value per share and the present value of expected future pershare residual income. In the residual income model, the equivalent mathematical expressions for intrinsic value of a common stock are V0=B0+∑t=1∞RIt(1+r)t=B0+∑t=1∞Et−rBt−1(1+r)t=B0+∑t=1∞(ROEt−r)Bt−1(1+r)t
A business thrives or fails depending on its marketing and system for generating leads. You need leads to make sales. No audience or exposure means you won’t get fresh faces checking out what your business does. Too many entrepreneurs spend all their time on the “busy work” and not enough on audience building. There are some great ways to build an audience and generate new leads:
What are your thoughts on an Immediate Annuity as a passive income vehicle? I suppose it’s not a great investment since you never get your principal back, but the risk is zero and the cash flow is fairly good, approaching 6% currently. And, since you are guaranteed payments for life, you may not care that you never see your principal again anyway since you’ll be dead!
The obvious way to earn a second income is to get a part-time job. If you are not currently working, this is an excellent way to start as it gives you the freedom and flexibility to start other passive income opportunities. The other option is to simply work from home full time which frees up commute time so you can focus on building more income streams.

1. The batting cage idea is very risky. I’ve seen many of them close over the years and it is not anything close to passive income if you want to keep the business going. You have to continually promote it and target youth leagues, coaches, schools etc to catch all of the new players who grow up and want to play. I’ve played at probably 8 batting cages over the years and 7 of them closed.

Hi, I’m an 18yr old who is about to enter college with a substantial amount of federal aid and scholarships but it is nowhere near enough to pay for the full amount. I know that I will be in debt but I need to figure out a way to generate multiple sources of income somehow to let money flow within the 4-6 years I will be in college. When I’m done with schooling I don’t want to be suffocating in my debt so much where I won’t be able to do anything in life.

The term “residual income” refers to the income that someone makes after their work has already been completed. An example of residual income is the earnings an author continues to make on a book after it has been published, when fans continue to purchase copies years later. Residual income is ideal because it is money that is being earned while doing nothing in the present moment to earn that money.

Thank you for specifics that you write about as it helps educate a lot of us that do not have the experience and knowledge that you have acquired. I have been practice writing a travel blog about our upcoming month long trip to France with the hubby and two sons ages 12 and 10 and your site constantly gives me little boosts to keep working toward this goal!

This is an interesting take and good advice for those who probably do not need to ever worry about becoming destitute. I’m sorry but too many of your options including your own list of income require quite a bit of initial investment/capital and these suggestions are useless to those living paycheck to paycheck. I’d like to see the average low to middle income household purchase additional property for rental, invest in their portfolio (if they can even start one), or even afford to have a vehicle or room to rent. Far too first world of a solution for the general public.
Speaking from our own experience, you can’t be a passive McDonald’s franchisee. Every McDonald’s potential franchisee will need to complete at least thousands of hours of training before he/she would be approved to acquire a franchise and only if he/she has the financial resources to acquire a franchise. It could take years before one would get a single store franchise. Until the franchisee eventually has acquired multiple stores and established his/her own management team, the franchisee would have to put his/her nose to the grindstone and work his/her ass off every day. I won’t call it a passive investment by any stretch of imagination.
In addition to an extra income stream, residual income allows you to diversify your revenue sources. Instead of relying on your standard paycheck, you’re earning money through the royalties of an eBook or the sales of an online course. Diversity of income gives your overall financial portfolio more security and depth. Similar to passive income, residual income gives you more financial stability, flexibility with your lifestyle, additional retirement savings, and a more robust financial standing.
A Risk Score of 10 means no risk. A Return Score of 1 means the returns are horrible compared to the risk-free rate. A Feasibility score of 10 means everybody can do it. A Liquidity Score of 1 means it’s very difficult to withdraw your money without a massive penalty. An Activity Score of 10 means you can kick back and do nothing to earn income. To make the ranking as realistic as possible, every score is relative to each other. Furthermore, the return criteria is based off trying to generate $10,000 a year in passive income.
I truly believe generating $10,000 a year online can be done by anybody who is willing to dedicate at least two years to their online endeavors. Here is a snapshot of what a real blogger makes through his website and because of his website. Roughly $150,000 a year is semi-passive income followed by another $186,000 a year in active income found through his site. Check out my guide on how to start your own blog here.
I have had a LC account for almost 2 years. Invested 5k. A lot of very small loans. Unfortunately I had to invest though Folio FN. The fees reduce your return. Now, they are not even allowing that. My interest and return of principal are not being reinvested. I talked with LC and they are working on it for my state. Even if I can obtain access to the prime portfolio, I would only place 10 percent of my cash here and would reinvest for at least 3 years. I am still concerned about what would happen when a recession hits.
This venture requires both time and money, but it is certainly worth it. Making low-risk investments with your savings offers higher dividends than letting the money in the bank. While buying stocks in large corporations comes with a high degree of risk, mutual funds are relatively safer and less volatile. They also offer higher return-on-investment compared to fixed or recurring deposits made in banks.
Evergreen content, which is described as that SEO content which stays relevant for a long time after its initial publication, is a good way to generate income. Comprehensive research statistics and case studies, such as social media marketing trends for the last five years, and detailed how-to guides, such as a beginners guide to using Twitter for business, are always going to be sought after people who wouldn't mind paying small amounts for access to the information.

In fact, any type of digital artwork could be sold on Etsy. If you end up taking up photography, or you’re an aspiring photographer or professional one, you could also sell your photos through Etsy as digital downloads. From vintage artwork to photography and motivational prints, you could sell any number of style of digital-only products through Etsy.

If you’ve ever thought to yourself, “I wish there was a product that did this,” then invent it! Create a product, medical or otherwise, and sell it as a company or get royalties for it. It’s not impossible to figure out, I have many friends who have taken a concept to market. Don’t overlook an invention as a fantastic means of attaining passive income.
However, residual income typically has an expiration date, especially if it is being earned through a business. Effort must be continuously put into the business in order for someone to continue to receive residual income. Businesses must continue to market themselves in order to remain relevant. The best way to look at residual income in this sense is that it is a part-time job that earns full-time income.

Another great idea for generating passive income is to create an online course. What can you teach others that would help them to improve in critical areas of their lives? Do you have technical skills that you’d be great at relaying? Do you have skills in the areas of web development, graphic design, finance, accounting, legal, marketing or any other field?

Thanks for the great article…although I have to point out many of the items listed are not passive but active, such as selling bodily fluids, writing blogs or resumes, and collecting bottles and cans. To be truly passive, the income source must require no effort on your part (after initial setup). Real estate, dividends, P2P lending…these are truly passive income sources.

Yet, there’s a level of determination that sets in when we truly want something badly enough. It allows us to supersede the realms of so-called impossibility, able to wield and manipulate the precious seconds, minutes and hours we do have in a day rather than squandering it. But that’s also why passive income is so important. Because we all have the same amount of time in a day, we can only earn so much money when we’re solely engaged in active-income-related endeavors. But we also know that producing any reasonable amount of passive income is monumentally difficult.

Hi Sam – Started reading your posts last year when I stumbled upon your website. Great stuff! I’ve also started investing in RealtyShares based on your recommendations. Just curious why all equity, when there are several debt offerings in the 8-9%+ range that only tie up capital for 12 months or so? I haven’t yet gone the equity route for this reason. Appreciate your thoughts.
As a private lender, you can lend to anyone in your social circle. For example, many home rehabbers need access to a source of capital they can tap into very quickly in order to fund the initial purchase of their properties. You can partner with a rehabber who uses your capital for a short-term in exchange for an interest rate that is mutually agreed upon.
Under no circumstances should any information from this blog be used as replacement for professional financial advice. DollarSprout.com is owned by VTX Capital, LLC and neither are licensed by or affiliated with any third-party marks on this website and third parties do not endorse, authorize, or sponsor our content except where clearly disclosed.DollarSprout.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
The book is not bad but it's not that great either. Think of it as an idea book in which you see him mention something and then research it futher. The rambling just becomes too much as you move along to the point where it becomes annoying to read. The tone the author uses is very nonchalant and he doesn't really explain anything. Ideas are just thrown out.
Let’s use Jim from our personal finance example. Jim’s furniture manufacturer builds tables and has several large pieces of equipment in the sawmill used to re-saw logs and boards down to the finished dimensions. The sawmill has net operating revenues of $100,000 for year. The saws in the mill cost Jim a total of $500,000 and he is currently earning a return of 10% in his wholesale table business. Thus, he sets a minimum required return of 10 percent.
The suggested analytical treatment of R&D expenditures is less definitive, but we can make a general statement that the ROE estimate for a mature company should reflect the long term productivity of the company's R&D expenditures: productive R&D expenditures increase ROE and residual income, and unproductive expenditures reduce ROE and residual income.

Turn your burning passions and daily musings into an entertaining audio show. Whether you want to talk about history, food, finance, or music, you can record and edit episodes from the comfort of your home. Once you have a large group of listeners, you can earn money from podcast sponsorships, affiliate marketing, selling products or eBooks, or crowdfunding. While you’ll have to produce episodes consistently, the time involvement is minimal and you can record several shows in advance.